Providing commentary, news and critical analysis of daily events and current affairs since 2005

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Hurricane Katrina - Oil production down 30%

As hurricane Katrina increased to a category 5 and headed towards the US coast, states of emergency were declared. “We cannot stress enough the danger,” the President said today and urged citizens to “follow instructions”. And with wind speeds in excess of 282 Km/h, and gust measured at 380 Km/h, the danger was clear. Thousands have fled low lying areas along the coast and a forced evacuation was being carried out in New Orleans. Storm surges of a predicted 8 metres may swamp New Orleans, 70% of which lies below sea level. Roads were described as gridlocked as freeways filled with motorists escaping the city. But caught in the midst are thousands of tourists. Many were unable to rent cars, book hotel rooms or even fly out due to the grounding of all air traffic. Emergency procedures have been established for those trapped in the city. Oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have cut their production by more than a third as many workers have evacuated to the mainland, according to CNN . The Gulf provides as much as 25% of US oil consumption.[19:36 GMT 28/08/2005]